The plasmodium parasites that cause malaria may have killed half of all humans Dr Tony Brain/Science Photo Linraey
IN ROME 1500 years ago, a mysterious plague swept through the city. Of the hundreds of children killed, one was buried in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city. In 2001, her body was exhumed and autopsied using modern genetic techniques. The tests showed she had died of malaria – the case of a disease that has been with us since time immemorial.
Malaria may have killed perhaps half of all the people who have ever lived. For most…
